Black History Month
in the Carolinas
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Just decades ago, like every other city in America, Charlotte was just beginning to learn the importance of inclusiveness and equality. Throughout the month of February, we're showing you before and after images of places important to Charlotte's black history. Click on an image below to see what the area looks like today. Historic photos are courtesy of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Learn more on their Web site, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: African-American Community.
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Interactive Map: Click here to see a map of these locations, plus photos from then and now.
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Bailey Teague grocery
I-277 at Independence -- Bailey Teague was one of the few black business owners in the Charlotte area decades ago. He operated a small neighborhood grocery store right beside his home on Plum and Short Streets. If you don't regonize those street names, it's probably because they no longer exist in Charlotte. The site of Mr. Teague's house is now part of the I-277 and Independence interchange. |
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Little Rock AME Zion Church
401 North Myers Street -- The Little Rock AME Zion Church was established in the 1800s. In June 1884, it moved to 401 North Myers Street. That is now the site of the Afro-American Cultural Center. The facility holds an art gallery and hosts several performances celebrating black culture throughout the year. The members of Little Rock AME Zion Church still worship nearby at a site right in front of the cultural center. |
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Pinewood-Elmwood Cemetery
700 block of West 6th Street -- When it opened in 1853, Elmwood Cemetery was where white Charlotte citizens were buried. And on the other side of the fence was Pinewood Cemetery for blacks. Some of the people who were most influential in the city's development are buried there. In the late 1960s, Fred Alexander - a black city councilman - led the effort to tear down the fence that separated the two cemeteries. |
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Earle Village
Alexander and 4th Streets -- Earle Village was a low-rise housing project in the African-American community. The neighborhood lagged behind the rest of the city, even in the 1960s. Some of the homes still had outhouses and unpaved roads. |
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Harding High School
329 N. Irwin Ave. -- Dorothy Counts became the first black student to attend the all-white Harding High. She was jeered, spat on and harassed as she helped to integrate Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Harding is now Irwin Avenue Open Elementary School, a magnet school for young children of all skin colors. |
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First black Baptist church
1020 S. Church Street -- Charlotte's first black Baptist church was organized by slaves in June 1867. The sanctuary in the photograph was used beginning in 1911 and was demolished in 1977. The church was torn down to make room for another parking lot. Several office buildings have been built nearby. |
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Second Ward High School
501 S. Alexander St. -- Second Ward High School was the city's first public high school solely for black students. It was in operation from 1923 to 1969. Now, the original building is gone and only a sign remains marking its history. Read more and see pictures from Charlotte's First high school for blacks. |
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Johnson C. Smith University
100 Beatties Ford Rd. -- It was first known as Biddle University. The first main building, known as Biddle Memorial Hall, was erected in 1893. Over the years, dorms were added and more classroom buildings. Now, Johnson C. Smith serves 1,500 students on more than 40 acres of land. Click here to learn more about the history of JCSU. |
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The Williams Home
205 S. Brevard Street -- This was the home of Dr. J.T. Williams, a physician who ran one of the first black-owned and operated drug stores in North Carolina. Williams also served as a foreign diplomat. His home sat on South Brevard Street in what used to be Second Ward in the early 1900s. What was once a bustling neighborhood is now a parking lot, right in the shadow of many of the Uptown buildings. |
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The Excelsior Club
921 Beatties Ford Road -- The Excelsior Club was a private black social club, one of the largest of its kind in the southeast. The club was also a key staging place in the Civil Rights Movement. The building that once stood in the 1950s still stands and is now considered a historic landmark. The club continues to operate as a social venue for nightlife and special events. |
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Mechanic and Farmers Bank
101 Beatties Ford Road -- The Mechanics and Farmers Bank on Beatties Ford Road opened in 1962 as the first bank in Charlotte to be located in the black community and managed by African-Americans. On day one, the bank received $600,000 in deposits. The neighborhood continues to operate in the same location on Beatties Ford Road. Very few changes have been made to the building, and this branch continues to pour money into the community it serves. |
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More Information
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: The African-American Community
African-American Heritage Driving Tour of Mecklenburg County
African-American firsts: Bill Russell
African-American firsts: Colin Powell
African-American firsts: Bill Cosby
African-American firsts: Madam C.J. Walker
African-American firsts: Emmett Ashford
African-American firsts: Ralph J. Bunch
African-American firsts: Ernie Davis
African-American firsts: Booker T. Washington
African-American firsts: Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr.
